Grace & Fury, Part One
by Mavis Moulterd-Humphries
Summary: Set after the "Darts Match" episode of GRACE & FAVOUR/ARE YOU BEING SERVED? AGAIN!  Moulterd has arranged to get Mavis married to town bully Malcolm Heathcliff, per the village charter allowing arranged marriages.  Chaos ensues.


**Grace & Fury**

**a "Grace & Favour" Fanfic**

**based on characters created by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft**

**Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein are the exclusive property of Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, except for those I created myself. No infringement of any kind is intended.**

**Prologue**

"Hush, little baby, don't say a word," Mary Moulterd sang to her infant daughter Mavis, causing her to smile and coo, "Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird..."

Mary tried to be cheerful, despite the pain she not only felt from childbirth not that long ago, but from the beatings she'd been getting from her husband Maurice from the early days of their marriage, which had been arranged by her father and Maurice's family. Dowries and arranged marriages such as hers were still legal in the village of Great Tender, although the local magistrate, Sir Robert Woodward, and his associate Celia Littlewood had tried to have them stricken from the village charter for over 15 years. Her father had arranged the marriage to get her out of his house, and didn't care that Maurice was abusing her, as long as she had a husband.

Nor did it help that Henry Heathcliff, who hailed from the village's wealthiest family and was an outright bully with a son who was already just like him, was Maurice's best friend. Malcolm was just 2, but already he was a spoiled brat who wanted everything his way, and his father had indulged him from the start. And he had taken a shine to Mavis since she had come out of the womb.

_God, _Mary prayed silently, _let Maurice come to his senses and not let Malcolm near our child._

Maurice, however, had his own intentions.

"A deal's a deal, 'Enry," Maurice chortled when he and Henry met at the Four Ferrets pub, "yer Malcolm wants ta marry my Mavis when they're growed? Well, 'e can."

"Are you sure, Maurice?" Henry asked. "You know that goody-two-shoes wife of yours will object."

"Aw, that bitch is soft in the 'ead," Maurice chortled over his scrumpy. "An' if she does object, I'll put another lump on it."

"Man after me own 'eart," Henry grinned, downing his mug. "I'm gonna go 'ome an' tell Malcolm th' good news."

Maurice laughed. "Don't worry none, 'Enry, I'll bring that wife 'a mine to heel," Maurice promised. "Mavis an' Malcolm _will _be together. Ya gots my word on it."

As Henry left, Malcolm ran up to him, accompanied by his mum. "Daddy, is it true?" he squealed happily. "I'm gonna marry Mavis Moulterd when we're growed?"

Henry scooped him up in his arms. "You are, boy," he grinned, ruffling his hair. "It's all set."

"Yay!" Malcolm chirped.

Maurice was in a cheerful mood when he returned home, and immediately Mary knew she couldn't trust it. "Maurice, what happened while you were at the pub?" she asked. "You're not usually this happy."

"I gots reason ta be, woman," he grinned. "I've secured Mavis's future."

Mary now realized what had happened. "Oh, no, you didn't."

"What? All's I done is promise 'Enry 'Eathcliff that 'is boy Malcolm's gonna make an honest woman of our Mavis when they're older."

Mary couldn't have been more disheartened. "Maurice, I'm ashamed of you. You've not given Mavis a choice in the matter."

"Mary, it's done! An' I'm not gonna back out of it. Mavis will marry Malcolm an' that's that!"

"And what if she says no? What if she falls in love with someone else?"

"Then I'll give 'er th' strap 'til she changes 'er mind!" And now he slapped her open-handed. "An' as fer you, you stupid bitch, yer gonna go along with it or else!" Another slap.

Now Mary found herself emboldened. She'd had enough. "No," she said.

Maurice was furious. _"What _did you say?"

"No."

"You'll do as I say, woman!"

Mary said it a third time. "No. I'm taking Mavis and I'm leaving." She put the sleeping Mavis in her travel bassinet, then began packing her things.

"You can't! Yer father - !"

"Yes, me father dowried me out to you. So what, Maurice? Me dad didn't let me marry the man I actually loved, he made me marry you instead. An' what 'ave I got to show for it besides Mavis? Low self-esteem an' a lot of bruises." She clicked the suitcases shut once they were packed. "No more, Maurice."

As she spoke, she did not see him charge...

**Present Day**

Mavis Moulterd was sleeping when Wilberforce Clayborne Humphries arose the morning after the darts match, rising well before the crack of dawn to get in the morning chores before Maurice had a chance to realize she was still resting. Wil softly smoothed her hair, then kissed her cheek before changing into his farm jeans and denim shirt, then going into the farmyard.

He began by cutting the firewood and stoking the furnace, and feeding the livestock before gathering eggs and milking the cow. Then he put the eggs and milk in the icebox before returning outside to rat out the drains, gather some veggies from the vegetable garden, and cut some herbs for cooking and wildflowers for decoration. As he headed back to the manor, he peered in on old Maurice.

The vicious old sot was still sleeping off his drunk from the previous night.

_Thank God, _Wil thought to himself as he returned to the manor. He was still angry about what had happened at the pub, and no wonder.

When Malcolm had bullied Mavis during the darts match, Maurice, her own father, did not tell Malcolm off. Wil had. And it had earned Wil Maurice's ire, just as everything Wil and Mavis had done for each other had earned them Maurice's ire. And neither of them knew why.

The fact that Maurice had overworked Mavis on the farm her whole life, that he continued to bully her well into her adulthood, angered Wil deeply. To say no-thing of the fact that, at 23, Mavis was being beaten by Maurice on a regular basis, when he wasn't pushing Malcolm onto her. It was as if, in his own abusive way, Maurice was trying to fix Mavis up with the wretch.

As he set aside the herbs, veggies and flowers on the kitchen counter, Wil had no idea how right he was.

Shirley Brahms was the first one down for breakfast, and was stunned to see Wil doing the cooking instead of Mavis. "'Ere, what's all this?" she asked.

"For God's sake, keep y'voice down," Wil gently scolded as he tended to the eggs and bacon on the cooktop and the American-style buttermilk biscuits in the oven, "y'nearly made me mess up me eggs."

"Sorry," Shirley said. "Oh, it smells smashin'. But 'ow come Mavis ain't up yet?"

"She's resting. After all her father's put on her, she's a damn sight earn-ed it," Wil replied.

Now Shirley got playfully suspicious. "Oh. For someone 'oo says 'e don't 'alf fancy 'er, you've a 'eckuva way 'a showin' it. If I was you, I'd go a'ead an' fess up already."

"And if I were you, Shirley," Wil said angrily, "I'd mind me own damn business!"

Now Wil realized that Jessica, Steven, Cuthbert and Betty had come down, and he immediately regretted his outburst. "Oh, Shirley, I'm sorry," he said sadly.

"Aw, don't be," Shirley grinned. "I was outta line, too."

Everyone now sat down to the breakfast Wil had prepared, which also included breakfast tea, butter, and orange marmalade. After everyone had filled their plates, Wil prepared a breakfast tray for him to share with Mavis. "I daresay, Mr. Humphries, I've never known you to be such a busy bee," Jessica said.

"So ya did all th' mornin' chores, then," Shirley said.

"I have," Wil said, "and compared to what Mavis has had to put up with, this is child's play." He then took the tray upstairs.

As she buttered a biscuit, Betty asked, "So Mavis really is sleeping in for a change?"

"She is," Shirley said. "An' frankly, it's 'bout time."

"I agree," Cuthbert said. "I'm not surprised Mr. Humphries stood up for her at the pub last night, either."

"Yes, he really stood in the gap for her," Steven said. "Her own father has his head crammed so far up Malcolm's backside, it's no wonder he wouldn't step in."

"Why _is _old Maurice so bent on bringing that awful boy around her?" Betty asked.

"Believe me, Mrs. Slocombe, even I have no idea," Jessica said.

"For once, I agree with ya," Shirley said. "Th' bad news is, th' sheep are still 'ere an' ol' Moulterd'll be wakin' up eventually."

"What I'm wondering is," Steven said, "why Moulterd lied and said the Heathcliffs were only going to raise the sheep for wool when they intended to slaughter them."

"Damned if I know," Cuthbert said.

"Thanks fer lettin' me sleep in, Mr. 'Umphries," Mavis chirped as she and Wil headed to the village after breakfast to get some supplies and to make Young Mr. Grace's old sedan legal. "Good thing Dad was still asleep, or I'd 'ave gotten a good beatin' for sure."

"Mavis, he shouldn't be doing that to you, just like Malcolm has no right to run over you simply because you're not interested in him," Wil noted. "And while I'm on the subject of those 2, why is your father so intent on having Malcolm in your airspace?"

"Beats me. 'E's been shovin' Malcolm on me since we was kids, an' even back then Malcolm 'ad th' makin's of becomin' th' town bully, like 'e is now."

"Judging from Henry, the apple didn't fall far from the tree."

"Y'damn right. But enough about them 3. Tell me more about you."

"What's there to tell, dear? I've never been married, I lived with me mother until recently, and I worked at Grace Brothers for almost 30 years on the mens' sales counter. I also worked at Derry and Toms in the hardware department before coming to Grace Brothers,"

"Well, tell me this. Do you ever think you'll marry someday an' become a father?"

"Honestly? I don't know. I've been a bachelor for so long, and I've slept alone for so long, I can't honestly say that I've ever been in love." Watch this. "Until now."

"Mr. 'Umphries?

"It's Wil, dear. Call me Wil." He gripped her hand as they drove into the village, and she gripped it back, smiling.

"Dad!" Malcolm called out when he ran in from the family estate's farmyard, "Dad! The sheep's gone!"

"What?" Henry asked, going with him to see.

Sure enough, the sheep were gone. "Y'don't think ol' Maurice changed 'is mind about that 'Umphries, do ya?" Malcolm asked.

"No, I don't think Maurice 'ad anythin' t'do with this," Henry assured him. "Don't you worry none, Malcolm. Sheep or no sheep, it'll all play out. Let's go get some breakfast."

"Okay," Malcolm said, going in with his father

Jessica got on her horse, then began the meandering ride throughout the countryside surrounding the village. Already the facade was beginning to crack.

Outwardly a tarty, snarky bitch, inwardly she was anything but that. If any-one were to know who she really was, she feared, they would think she were weak and spineless. That was why she wore the mask.

As a baby, she'd been given up for adoption when her mother was abandoned by her father. After, her birth mother had vanished. But it had been for her good, because Jessica had been raised in a well-off, but loving family who had supported her dreams of becoming a chef in America. They had even been supportive of her marrying an American patisserie owner upon graduating from culinary school, then beginning her work as a sous chef for Paul Prudhomme and working alongside rising superchef Emeril LaGasse. But then it all crashed down during Mardi Gras.

All Jessica had remembered of that night were shots firing into her and her husband Daniel's vehicle as they got ready to go home from the shop. She didn't awaken until 5 weeks later, after being placed in a medically-induced coma and undergoing surgeries that ended up saving her vital organs and her life. She had been shot 4 times and lived.

Daniel, and their unborn baby girl, had not been so fortunate. They had died instantly. There would be no more children.

The tears poured hot down her face as she continued to ride to her favorite thinking spot, where she often pondered the path her life had taken her. Today, she grieved as never before, her wailing echoing through the countryside, and faithfully, her horse, named Emeril, stood by her.

"Betty, how are you feeling?" Steven asked when he checked on her after lunch. She had been journaling per her psychotherapist's instructions, and she was shaking and weeping.

"I don't want to remember this," she sobbed, showing him the journal. "It hurts too much."

"You're trusting me to read this?"

"If you'd like to. But there's ugly stuff in there."

Steven opened the journal, and received a shock.

Betty's earliest memories of her childhood were of her father and 2 uncles taking turns raping her orally, vaginally, and anally at age 3. "Usually at 3, a girl sucks on an all-day lolly, not on her father's penis," Betty had written. "Not me. And I was not willing."

"Dear God," Steven realized. "I can see why you rarely talked about your family. What about your uncle from America?"

Betty wept. "He was the black sheep. He actually tried to protect me, but me mum wouldn't let him."

"So your mother allowed it to happen."

"Yes."

This now explained everything. The boozing, the being lovestarved to the point of anorexic, all of it. Steven now closed the journal, then sat beside Betty and gently hugged her.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"I was afraid. The abuse didn't stop when I got married, either. Only Ce-cil was the one abusing me, not me father."

"Did Cecil hit you?"

"Yes, and he enjoyed doing it. He divorced me when I became pregnant and wouldn't abort the baby. The baby was his, but he didn't believe me. I had a lit-tle girl, and I couldn't raise her. So I put her up to be adopted. I haven't seen her since."

Steven paled. "That must be agony."

Steven now held Betty, soothing her as she wept.

It wasn't until half past noon when Maurice began to stir. Being of a rather slothful nature, and having made Mavis do most of the work around the farm, he stretched and yawned, then cuddled back into his nap.

At that moment, "BAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" came the bleating of the sheep.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Maurice screamed, the shock causing him to fall out of bed. He now saw the sheep, and became enraged.

"What's them God-blessed sheep doin' back 'ere?" he erupted as he put on his clothes, then stomped out into the barnyard to look for Mavis. "Mavis! Mavis Anne Moulterd!" He shouted it again at the tops of his scrumpy-rotted lungs. "!"

He looked around for her, when his calling for her brought no answer. "Huh, lazy cow probably ain't done 'er chores," he grumbled. "That li'l bitch can't do _anythin_' right!"

When he looked around, however, he found that the chores _had _been done. The potato bed was in good order, the livestock were warm and fed, the drains had been ratted out, the cow had been milked, the eggs had been gathered, and the furnace was well stoked. Still, that did not suit him, and he stomped angrily to the man-or.

"Has Mavis come back with Mr. Humphries yet?" Cuthbert asked as he looked out the kitchen window.

"No, why?" Shirley replied.

"Because Henry Heathcliff's brother from another mother just woke up," Cuthbert said.

"Uh-oh," Shirley said.

"Don't you worry, Shirley, I'm just in the mood," Cuthbert assured her, girding himself for what was to come.

At that, Maurice stormed into the manor kitchen. "Aw right, which 'a you knows where that no-good daugh'er 'a mine's got to?" he demanded.

"She's gone with Mr. Humphries to get some supplies and to get a legal ins-pection on the car," Cuthbert replied, "and for God's sake, don't you use that rude tone with me."

"I'll use _any _tone I like, Big-Ears!" Maurice erupted. "'Ere they's a mess 'a chores t'do, an' off she goes every time with that 'Umphries! An' what about them blessed sheep, eh? They b'long t'Malcolm 'Eathcliff!"

Now Shirley rose to give him her two pence. "They was gonna _slaughter _them sheep!" she scolded. "You lied t'us an' said they was gonna be raised for wool!"

"Don't matter, you silly cow, them's t'go t'Malcolm!" Maurice stated. "Them's Mavis's dowry!"

"Her _what?" _a shocked Cuthbert and Shirley said in unison.

"First of all, that dratted daugh'er 'a mine owes Malcolm an apology fer runnin' 'round with that 'Umphries an' playin' 'ard t'get," Maurice said. "An' second of all, she _'as _t'apologize b'cause in 2 weeks' time, Malcolm's gonna be 'er _'usband!"_

It fully dawned on them now. "Mr. Moulterd, you've arranged for Mavis to marry the town bully?" Cuthbert demanded.

"Me an' 'Enry arranged it when they was both li'l, 'cause that's 'ow long Malcolm's fancied 'er," Maurice said.

"They's no way she's gonna do it!" Shirley erupted. "Number 1, she can't stand th' sight 'a 'im, an' number 2, in case you ain't figured it out yet, she 'appens t'be in love with Mr. 'Umphries, an' she'll tell you that 'erself!"

"An' if she does defy me, I'll just 'afta give 'er th' strap, won't I?" Maurice said ominously.

"Mr. Moulterd," Cuthbert said, "Mavis may be your daughter, and you may do things differently in the country, but you need to keep in mind that she is a _grown woman! _She has the right to make her own decisions!"

Maurice angrily shook his head. "Not about this, she don't," he said. "So, whether you lot like it or not, whether that 'Umphries likes it or not, an' certainly whether Mavis likes it or not, she's marryin' Malcolm an' _that's th' way it's gonna be!" _

As Maurice left, Steven and Betty came downstairs, and Jessica came in from outside. "I daresay, what's with him?" Jessica asked. "He damn near knocked me down!"

"And he disturbed me from my nap!" Betty said.

"It's t'do with them sheep, I'm afraid," Shirley said, grabbing a Diet Coke from the icebox.

"The sheep?" Steven asked.

"I'm afraid so," Cuthbert said. "Shirley and I just found out that Moulterd intends them to be the dowry for an arranged marriage. He and Henry Heathcliff made an arrangement between themselves to get Mavis married to Malcolm within the next 2 weeks, and Mavis has no knowledge of this."

"She'll never agree to it!" Betty piped up. "She's entirely too besotted with Mr. Humphries to give Malcolm the time of flippin' day!"

"Try tellin' Moulterd," Shirley said, "'e's threatened t'give 'er a good thrashin' if she don't go along with it. An' knowin' 'ow Mavis feels about Mr. 'Umphries, she'll most likely take that risk."

"What concerns me is how Mr. Humphries will react when he finds this out," Steven said, "he'll be absolutely furious."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Jessica said.

"I still can't figure what 'appened to th' sheep," Malcolm wondered as he and Henry oversaw their farmhands with the livestock.

"Malcolm, will ya quit worryin'? It'll work out," Henry said.

At that moment, Maurice arrived on his tractor and cart, with the sheep. "'Ey, that's Maurice!" Henry said, well pleased.

Maurice parked the tractor, then got the sheep off the cart and brought them to Malcolm. "'Ere's yer sheep back, Malcolm," Maurice grinned.

Malcolm couldn't have been happier. "Maurice! How?" he asked.

"They showed back up at Millstone Manor, an' I couldn't let you do without yer dowry payment," Maurice grinned.

"'Ave y'told Mavis yet?" Henry asked.

"Not yet, she's in th' village with that 'Umphries," Maurice grumbled. "But I will when she gets back, don't you worry."

Malcolm now hugged Maurice. "Thank you," he grinned.

"Aw, don't mention it," Maurice said. "I toldja, you an' Mavis will be t'gether, an' I'm gonna keep me word."

Steven was doing his yoga meditations when he suddenly burst forth into weeping.

It had been two years, two years since that terrible day, when he had lost his wife Olivia.

They had had their problems due to her bipolar depression, but his roving eye had not helped matters. Even so, he had loved her, and even now her death hurt him.

He had sensed something was wrong, and had gotten permission from Cuthbert and Young Mr. Grace to come home early to check on her. And as he'd walked through the door, he'd seen her with the pistol, the barrel aimed upward in her mouth.

Then she had fired,

The memory of Olivia dying in his arms was as fresh and traumatic as it had been the day she had died. And he had tried to pursue Jessica as a way of taking his mind off of Olivia's death, but he hadn't succeeded. All it had done was re-mind him of Olivia, how his dalliances had not only hurt her, but most likely had driven her to take her own life. And anyway, Jessica was a child.

Unable to continue the meditation, Steven went to the bathroom, only to sink down to the floor, sobbing for his lost wife.

Cuthbert, meanwhile, was having his own dilemma.

It had been thrilling seeing Shirley again after Young Mr. Grace's passing, especially after his wife Cordelia had divorced him to marry Mr. Prentice of the Grace Brothers packing department. Ever since her first day at Grace Brothers, Cuthbert had had a soft place in his heart for Shirley, because he had remembered her from his youth.

He had been a street kid, turned out of his home by his drunken parents at 12, and had found acceptance in a gang in Catford, where Shirley had spent her for-mative years. One day, the gang decided they liked the 12-year-old Shirley's looks, and set out to attack her.

Cuthbert, however, stopped them. He was 18 at this time, and he felt it would be wrong to commit a rape, especially the rape of a small chlld. He suffer-ed a brutal beating and was thrown out of the gang for trying to protect Shirley, who ended up raped by the rest of the gang anyway.

Shirley, for her part, had never forgotten how "Knuckles" had tried to stand in the gap for her and prevent the gang-rape, but the assault had left her traumatized well into her middle age. Now, she saw her beauty as a curse, because she had been sexually harassed and assaulted several times since the first rape, and during the live Punch and Judy show at Grace Brothers one Christmas, she had even been knocked around by Dick Lucas because she would not have sex with him. He had used the Punch and Judy show to inflict the beating, and afterward she had had to be taken to the hospital. That was why he had been sacked by Grace Brothers, after all, and once again Cuthbert had stood in the gap for her.

Wil had called the ambulance, and the others had hovered over her, but Cuthbert never left her side for a minute, in spite of the bitch he had married.

Inwardly, Cuthbert and Shirley couldn't stop thinking about each other, although outwardly they shut off such feelings. Besides, she still had to diffuse Celia Littlewood, the openly lesbian magistrate who had taken a shine to her, and he had to learn to move on from Cordelia.

Then, and only then, did they feel that they could pursue each other.

"Thank you fer th' flowers, Wil," Mavis chirped, holding the armful of burnt orange and yellow roses in her hands and smelling their sweet aroma. "Oh, they smell smashin'."

"You deserve them, Mavis," Wil replied. "You're too beautiful a girl to do without beautiful things. That's why I got them."

"An' I'll always treasure them," she said, gently kissing his cheek. He smiled, then continued the drive to the manor.

Where Maurice was pulling in on his tractor and cart, pulling in alongside them as they began to unload the supplies. "I wonder what Dad wants," she said.

"Who knows?" Wil said, already smelling a rat.

Maurice now came down off the tractor, then approached. "Mavis," he said, his tone so sweet butter wouldn't melt in his mouth, "d'ya 'ave a few minutes? I gotta talk t'you about somethin'."

"Can it wait, Dad?" she asked. "Me an' Mr. 'Umphries just got back from town, an' we're unloadin' the supplies."

"_Now, _Mavis? I really gotta talk t'you," he pleaded.

"I could go with you, if you like," Wil offered.

Mavis thought a second. "No, Wil. Whatever it is, I need t'sort this out on me own," she said. "I 'ope y'don't mind."

"Are you sure?" Wil asked.

"I am," Mavis said.

She then kissed him on the cheek, then went to talk to her father.

As soon as Wil had the supplies put away, he went to his and Mavis's room, and set about arranging her roses in a pair of vases. His train of thought was interrupted, however, when Steven came in.

"You haven't let Mavis go talk to her father, have you?" Steven asked.

"Yes, just a bit ago," Wil replied.

"Oh, God," Steven winced. This alarmed Wil.

"Steven, is there something I need to know?"

Steven now set his face with angry concern. "Remember those sheep we took back from Malcolm Heathcliff and his father?"

"I do."

"Mr. Moulterd took them back over there while you and Mavis were in town! Wil, he intends them to be the bloody dowry for an _arranged_ _marriage_!"

Now it was Wil's turn to be alarmed. _"What?"_

"Yes! Mr. Moulterd and Henry Heathcliff have arranged for Mavis to marry Malcolm 2 weeks from now! Moulterd said so himself! And he's willing to go to any lengths to force her to do it!"

"Including giving her a beating."

Wil threw down his work, then bolted downstairs, through the kitchen, and out the door, nearly knocking Shirley down in the process. "'Ere, what's goin' on?" she demanded.

"Shirley, there's not any time! Call the police, now!" Steven said.

"The police?" Jessica said.

"Yes, and ring an ambulance, too! Hurry!" Steven said, bolting out right behind Wil.

"Good Heavens," Cuthbert realized, going to the phone.

Now Betty, Jessica, and Shirley came to their own conclusion. "Mavis!" they all said in unison, following Steven and Wil out.

Wil ran into the farmyard, looking for Mavis, and was almost run over by Maurice in his tractor as he headed back to the Heathcliff estate.

"'Ey, watch it!" Maurice scolded.

"I'll give you 'watch it,'" Wil mumbled angrily, now turning his attention to the woodshed.

He now noticed that it was locked tight, something it almost never had been. He tried the door, to release the lock. Nothing.

"Damn it!" he erupted. He now heard pained whimpering from inside, and realized what had happened.

"Mavis? Mavis!" he called out, banging on the door. "Are you in there? _Mavis!"_

The weeping continued. "Willy," she sobbed from behind the door.

Wil now looked for something, anything, to take out the locks. He now found the large ballpeen hammer used to split logs, picked it up, and began to bang away at the locks as everyone came out.

"Ambulance is on the way," Cuthbert said.

"Is she in there?" Shirley asked.

"What do you think?" Wil asked, the locks now falling away with the final blow. He now opened the doors.

"Oh, no," Betty wept as the doors opened.

Mavis was semiconscious at this point, and going into shock from the brutality of the beating. Maurice had done far more than give her the strap this time. "Get a blanket!" Wil shouted, going in to carry her out.

Jessica complied, going to the groom's quarters and getting two to wrap Mavis in. She spread one on the ground, and Wil carried Mavis to the blanket and lay her down. Then he and Jessica bundled her up in both blankets to keep her warm.

"Where's that damn ambulance?" Wil demanded as he tended to Mavis, as the sirens now approached the manor.

Mavis was so severely injured that she would have to be airlifted to St. Mary's hospital in London from Great Tender Memorial. She had four fractured ribs, her right arm had been broken, her face was heavily bruised, and her entire body was bruised and cut up from Maurice giving her the strap to go with the other injuries. For his part, Sir Robert was not surprised at what had happened, and gladly took Wil's petition to press charges on Mavis's behalf. "Don't worry, Mr. Humphries," he assured him, "Maurice has gotten away with this for far too long. There's no way he's going to bribe himself out of this now."

"What about the dowry arrangement he made with the Heathcliffs?" Wil asked.

"Since Mavis has rejected the arrangement, it's worthless. It's worthless, anyway," Sir Robert said. "As far as I'm concerned, the Heathcliffs and Maurice keeping this arranged marriage business on the village charter is pure bollocks."

"You're not joking," Wil said angrily. "I'm going for a coffee."

"Mr. Humphries, what are you up to?" Cuthbert asked.

"Something I should have done a long damned time ago," Wil stated, going to the hospital cafe.

Upon arriving there, he came face to face with a smug Malcolm. "What're you doing here?" Wil asked.

"I came t'do ya a favor," Malcolm said.

"And that is?"

"A choice. Either you give up Mavis an' let me 'ave 'er, or you give up breathin'. It's up t'you, mate."

Wil had a think for a second. "Erm. Y'know, I rather do love breathing."

Malcolm arched his eyebrow. Then Wil lowered the boom.

"But I love Mavis _more."_

At that, Malcolm swung at Wil and missed, prompting Wil to land a bonecrunching left across Malcolm's cheek, then grab his right arm and twist it behind him until it almost broke. "Get the Hell out of here!" he shouted, giving him the bum's rush out of the hospital.

When Wil came back to himself, he found Shirley and Betty standing there. They had seen the altercation.

"Blimey, where'd _that _come from?" Betty asked.

Wil regarded them gently, then headed out to settle another score.

Maurice had had to hide out at the Heathcliffs' while the police had been at Millstone Manor, and one of Henry and Malcolm's lookouts now saw Malcolm, the shiner fresh on his face and his arm sore, bicycling back home.

"Blimey, son, what 'appened t'you?" Henry asked.

"It was that 'Umphries," Malcolm said. "I gave 'im th' ultimatum, an' as you can see, 'e said no."

"Oh, God," Henry said. "It's okay, boy. Go put some ice on your eye."

"Yes, Dad," Malcolm said, going to do just that.

Now Henry turned to Maurice. "Now what do we do?" Henry asked. "That 'Umphries is turnin' out t'be more dangerous than we thought."

"B'lieve me, 'Enry, I sure don't like it," Maurice said. "I'm gonna take th' shortcut back to th' manor."

"Be careful, Maurice, you know the police is lookin' fer you," Henry said.

Maurice now headed back to the manor, taking the shortest route so as not to be detected by the local constabulary. Upon entering the manor kitchen, he realized no one was home.

The coast was clear. Or so he thought.

As he was pouring himself a pint of Guinness, the slamming of the kitchen door. "Right, old man, explain y'self," the familiar voice hissed. Maurice turned with a start, spilling his stout.

Wil.

"Now look, ya spilt me beer!" Maurice scolded, repouring what had come out.

"I said, explain y'self. Go on," Wil demanded.

"Can't ya leave well enough alone, 'Umphries?" Maurice scolded. "'Ere I 'ad Mavis all set t'get married, an' look what ya made me do - !"

"I didn't cause that, you withered old git! You of all people should know Mavis never wanted to be with Malcolm. But you didn't take that into consideration when you set up that dowry, now did you?"

Maurice sipped his beer. "Well, I wouldn't 'ave give 'er that beatin' if she'd done what I told 'er t'do! She shoulda married Malcolm! But what 'appened instead? She fell in love with _you _an' turned into a disobedient li'l cow 'oo won't mind 'er place!"

"Is it so wrong for her to make her own decisions, Maurice? She doesn't want to be with another bully when she's already been _raised _by one - !"

"Malcolm's th' _perfec' man _fer 'er!"

Maurice now went back to his Guinness, but Wil angrily backhanded the pint glass out of his hand, causing it break into dozens of shards on the kitchen floor. "He doesn't even _love _Mavis! Open y'damned eyes, you drunken prig!"

Maurice now stood to his full height, challenging Wil. "'E don't love 'er, eh? 'Ow would you know that?"

Wil held his ground. "Because unlike your dear friend Malcolm, I do. I love Mavis." Wil now turned to leave. "At least someone does."

As it sank in, Maurice sat dumbfounded, and did not resist when the constabulary came to arrest him.

"Diana, we got an airlift from Great Tender in triage," Dr. Lane Connolly said, reporting to one of the surgeons on call, Dr. Diana Yardswick-Taylor. "A Mavis Anne Moulterd."

"Right, what happened to her?" Diana asked.

"'Er father beat 'er up when she wouldn't go along with an arranged marriage," Dr. Connolly replied.

"She's from Great Tender, all right," Diana said. "We've gotten a lot of those lately. 'Ow is she?"

"She's been goin' in an' outta shock, her right arm is broken, she has four fractured ribs, heavy bruising and lacerations," Dr. Connolly said.

"Does she have other next of kin?"

"No, but some of her friends are here."

"Right, I'll go talk to them."

Diana went to the triage waiting area, and was surprised to find Steven, Bet-ty, Shirley, Jessica and Cuthbert. "You're with Miss Moulterd?" she asked. "But you was at Grace Brothers!"

"We inherited a country inn as our pension when Young Mr. Grace died while scuba diving," Steven said. "I had no idea you were a doctor now, Diana."

"Yeah, the Grace Brothers canteen put me through medical school so I could better support my son," she said.

"Will Mavis be all right?" Shirley asked.

"I 'ave t'look at 'er first, Shirley," Diana said. "Where's Mr. 'Umph-ries? 'E not with you?"

"He's on his way up," Betty said, "and he's the reason Mavis refused that arranged marriage. She's in love with him, and we suspect he feels the same."

"Oh, that's a new one," Diana said. "I remember that 'e always 'ad a problem findin' somebody t'love. Not t'mention 'is mum bein' 'ow she is."

"Oh, I know," Shirley said.

"Right, I'm gonna go check on Mavis," Diana said. "It was good to see you all again."

"Thank you, Dr. Yardswick - !" Cuthbert began.

"It's Yardswick-Taylor now. I got remarried," Diana chirped. "See you lot in a bit."

As she headed to triage, Wil now returned. "Was that our former canteen manageress?" he asked.

"She's a doctor now," Cuthbert replied.

"So 'ow'd it go with ol' Moulterd?" Shirley asked.

"Well, he knows now, as you all do, that I love her," Wil said. "His jaw hit the floor when I told him off, too."

"I think all our jaws dropped when you finally fessed up," Shirley noted.

"I'll say. Especially after that hiding you gave to Malcolm in the cafe," Steven said.

"I came as soon as I heard," a familiar voice said now. The others turned.

Wil's mother Annie.

"Mother, you came all this way?" Wil asked.

"Well, I couldn't let you worry over sweet Mavis by y'self," Annie noted. "Oh, her father ought to be hanged for what he did."

"Mrs. Humphries, how did you get here?" Cuthbert asked.

"That nice chap and his friend over there," Annie said, pointing to Sir Robert and Celia. "I was headed to me bingo game, they saw me, realized who I was, and gave me the 4711 on the way."

"That's the 411, mother," Wil grinned.

"Oh, you cheeky boy," Annie teased.

Celia now sat beside Shirley. "Are you okay, dear?" she asked.

"I'm good, considerin' I'm not th' one 'oo got beat up," Shirley replied.

"Oh, I know it," Celia said. "That awful father of hers and the Heathcliffs have run over the village as long as I can remember."

"What's happened, Sir Robert?" Jessica asked.

"We've arrested Maurice Moulterd," Sir Robert said, "and that's the good news. The bad news is, Henry Heathcliff posted his bail just an hour ago."

"That doesn't surprise me," Betty said disgustedly.

Now Diana came back out. "Mavis has come out of shock and is resting," she said, "but she'll need an operation on her arm. It was broken in two places. In the meantime, she'll have to rest for several days. Her right cheekbone was also broken where her father struck her with his fist."

"Oh, God," Betty wept.

"Shirley, would you like to go for some coffee?" Celia now offered.

"Nah, I'll stay 'ere. Thanks, though," Shirley said, quickly diffusing her without hurting her feelings. Celia quickly took the hint and backed away.

"Thanks fer bailin' me out," Maurice said when he and Henry were hea-ded to the Heathcliff estate from Millstone Manor, after Maurice had gotten his things.

"Think nothin' of it, Maurice. You're me mate," Henry said. "I jus' can't b'lieve that 'Umphries actually loves Mavis."

"At least now we know why 'e rang Malcolm's jaws awhile ago," Maurice said. "'Ow is 'e?"

"Not 'appy," Henry said, "but the arrangement still stands. Once Mavis is outta the 'ospital, she's marryin' Malcolm."

"Oh, yes she will," Maurice agreed "I got 'er dress already picked out."

Two days later, Mavis was prepped for surgery, and Wil didn't leave her for a second.

"Willy, I'm scared," she sobbed, having never undergone such a serious operation before.

"Mavis, I'll be right here when you come out. I'm not leaving you," he assured her.

"Promise me," she said.

"I'll be right here," he said.

"Promise me, Willy."

Wil smiled. "I promise. I love you."

Mavis pulled him in for a soft kiss. "I love you, Willy."

Wil went with her as they wheeled her in, stopping short at the double doors leading to the ER.

"It's all right, Mavis, we'll take good care of ya," Diana assured her, gently dabbing her brow with a damp cloth as they prepared to put her under for the operation.

"Dr. Taylor, I 'ope so," Mavis said drowsily as the sedation took effect. Once she was asleep and on oxygen, Diana examined Mavis's broken arm.

"Right, you lot, we 'ave a lot of work t'do," Diana said, "that is one nasty fracture."

Late that evening, a call at the manor. "Millstone Manor, Cuthbert Rumbold speaking," Cuthbert said.

"Cuth, it's Wil," Wil replied. "Mavis made it through just fine."

"Thank heaven for that," Cuthbert said. He then turned to the others. "Mavis made it through her surgery."

"Thank God," Betty chirped.

"Wil, when will you be back here?" Cuthbert asked.

"Not until Mavis recovers enough to come home, that's for sure," Wil said. "And if her father and Malcolm get up in me airspace and try to force that marriage, they'll get their bums handed right back to them."

Just then, Cuthbert saw Maurice head toward the manor, bearing a dress bag. "Uh-oh," Cuthbert said, "you may get your chance. I'll ring you back in half an hour."

Maurice now came in. "Well," Steven said crisply, "headed to a fan-cy dress at the Heathcliffs'?"

"Very funny, Peacock, yer a funny man," Maurice replied sarcastically. "This 'ere's Mavis's weddin' dress."

"Oh. Still bent on 'er marryin' Malcolm, are we?" Shirley fumed. "Look, she an' Mr. 'Umphries 'ave both told you, it ain't gonna 'appen."

"Oh, yes it will!" Maurice scolded. "Deal's a deal! An' I don't care if that 'Umphries _does _love 'er! She's gonna learn t'love Malcolm, an' she's gonna _marry_ Malcolm while she's at it!"

"Oh, Maurice, give it a damned rest!" Betty now said. "It's no wonder your own wife left – you probably treated her as badly as you've treated your child over the years!"

"Don't start with me!" Maurice protested. "Y'want me t'give _you _a good thrashin'?"

"You've done it before, so you threatening me again damn sure doesn't surprise me!" Betty erupted. "Far as I'm concerned, you're no better than Cecil damned Slocombe!"

"I treated ya good, Lovey!" Maurice insisted.

"You treated me like I was your personal punching bag! Why do you think I want nothing to do with you now?" Betty reminded him. "And when I married Cecil, he liked to hit me, too! You two would make the perfect couple!"

"Lovey - !" Maurice pleaded, but Betty turned on her heel and left the lobby, with Steven close behind.

"Betty, what's going on?" Steven asked as they went to her room. "I've seen you infuriated, but not like this! Did Moulterd abuse you, too?"

"He did," Betty said. "And knowing how he's treated Mavis has really got me pissed off."

"Yes, you really lit into him just now," Steven noted.

"Believe me, he had it coming," Betty noted, turning to her cat Tiddles, a pretty, long-haired grey cat who quickly jumped into her lap once she sat down on her bed.

"Just like Malcolm had it coming when Mr. Humphries punched him in the face," Steven agreed.

Shirley and Cuthbert now came up. "Moulterd's gone," Cuthbert said. "He's still determined to see the marriage take place, I'm afraid."

"That figures," Betty grumbled.

"Say," Shirley realized, "where's Jessica?"

"What do you mean, the Heathcliffs and Mr. Moulterd have called an emergency town hall meeting on this matter?"Jessica said worriedly. "Isn't Mavis's refusing this marriage enough to convince them to leave her be?"

"You'd think so, Jess, but I'm afraid it's not that easy," Sir Robert noted. "The laws in the village charter permitting such arrangements have been on the books since the village was foun-ded in 1402, and they've never been stricken. They've been challenged, of course, but they've never been stricken from the charter. And the Heathcliff and Moulterd families have been the main supporters of this law."

"All except Mavis," Jessica said.

"As well as Mavis's mother Mary," Sir Robert said. "She was in love with another farmer from the village, a man who loved her dearly, but her father felt Moulterd was a better match for her because he liked to hit women. His sick way of keeping them in check. And his friendship with the Heathcliffs goes back to when he and Henry were children."

"Tell me, Sir Robert, what happened to Mavis's mother?"

"The story is, she took off with that other farmer. But he had vanished long before her disappearance. Still, most of the village is too afraid to not go along with this urban legend."

"Well, I certainly don't buy it. You shouldn't, either."

"I don't. But the Heathcliffs are the wealthiest family in this village. Their net worth makes the royal family look like paupers – and with Moulterd being their pet supporter and as much of a bully as them, they have most of the village afraid of them."

"Dear God. When's the meeting?"

"Friday evening. I think your friends from Millstone Manor need to be there."

"Oh, we'll be there, all right. And if we get a live Skype feed going, we can have Mr. Humphries and Mavis present from the hospital."

"He's the one Mavis actually loves, isn't he?"

"He is. And he feels the same for her."

"Splendid. The more we can get in opposition, the better."

"An emergency meetin'?" Shirley exclaimed when Jessica told everyone later. "Are they that desperate?"

"Apparently," Jessica said. "This much is for sure, Mr. Moulterd and the Heathcliffs have anticipated further opposition."

"Oh, we're going to be at the meeting," Cuthbert said, "for no other reason than to be a support for Mr. Humphries and Mavis."

"I've got a laptop computer," Jessica said, "and I have a Skype account. All we need to do is line up Mr. Humphries and Mavis on Skype, and they can be at the meeting, as well."

"What a good idea," Betty said. "You line it up, and we'll take care of things here."

"Sir Robert has Skype, so that won't be a problem," Jessica said, heading to the groom's quarters to get her laptop before heading out. "Cheers."

"Cheers," Shirley said.

"Is it me, or is Jess behaving a lot kinder now?" Steven asked.

"Y'know, she is," Shirley noticed. "She's not nearly as tarty as she usually is. I wonder what's 'appened?"

"She really has a kind heart, despite the snarkiness," Cuthbert said. "She's had a difficult last few years herself."

"Why, what happened to her?" Betty asked.

"Well, she was put up for adoption when she was a baby, after her birth parents split up, but it was for her good. She was adopted by a very loving couple," Cuthbert said.

"So where was the difficulty?" Steven asked.

"She actually wanted to be a chef in America. Of course, her adoptive parents supported that dream," Cuthbert said. "She once worked alongside the likes of Paul Prudhomme and Emeril LaGasse, and she was even happily married to a patisserie owner in New Orleans and was expecting a baby. But then it all went south. Her adoptive parents were killed in a car wreck, and her husband and her unborn child were killed as a result of a drive-by shooting during Mardi Gras. She was in a coma for several weeks as doctors worked to save her life."

"Dear God," Betty said. "That explains everything."

"I'll say," Shirley realized.

Now Betty paled. "I need to go upstairs," Betty said, heading back up to her room. She didn't make it.

"Betty!" Steven exclaimed as she collapsed in the throes of a massive heart attack. Steven now ran to her and began CPR. "Please, Betty, stay with me!"

Cuthbert now ran to the phone. "This is Cuthbert Rumbold!" he shouted. "We need an ambulance at Millstone Manor immediately!"

"Who's it for?" the operator asked.

"Betty Slocombe! She's having a heart attack! Get your asses down here!" Cuthbert erupted.

Wil was reading a magazine as Mavis slept, when Jessica arrived with her laptop. "Hello, Jessica, what brings you here?"he asked.

"The Heathcliffs and Mr. Moulterd have called an emergency meeting about the arranged marriage law on Great Tender's charter," she said. "My computer has a Skype account, and Sir Robert's does as well. This way, you and Mavis can be at the meeting."

"Oh, smashing," Wil chirped.

Just then, Steven ran in. Wil did not like the look on his face. "Steven, what's happened?" he asked.

"It's Betty," Steven explained, "she's had a heart attack."

"OhmiGod," Jessica said.

"Will she be all right?" Wil asked.

"She's critical, but they think she'll recover. She's in ICU," Steven said. He then turned to Jessica. "Jess, are they hooked up yet?"

"No, but they will be," Jessica chirped, plugging into the wi-fi and getting online. She then turned on her Skype. "Can you hear me, Sir Robert?"

"I can, Jessica," Sir Robert said. "Can you hear me, Mr. Humphries?"

"I can see you, too," Wil said.

"How's Mavis?" Sir Robert asked.

"She's sleeping," Wil replied.

"Good, good," Sir Robert said. "Jessica's got you fixed up for the meeting Friday. See you then."

"Thank you, Sir Robert," Wil said.

When Mavis awoke, she saw the laptop, a lot of yellow and orange roses in vases, and Wil seated right beside her. "Willy, what's that thing?" she asked.

"It's a laptop computer, dear," he grinned.

"I've never seen one of those in the country," she said. "I've never even been on the internet."

"No, but I can imagine that wretch your father wants you to marry has," Wil fumed.

"You're not wrong," Mavis agreed. "What's 'appened?"

"Malcolm, his father, and your father have called an emergency meeting of the village council regarding the arranged marriages law on the village charter," Wil said. "They've decided that your father beating you up wasn't enough to force the issue."

"They can't do that!"

"I know, dear. That's why Jessica Lovelock brought her computer for us to use. She has this Skype call-in thing on her computer, so we can be at the meeting while you're still here in bed."

"That's comfortin' t'know."

"That's not all. Something happened to cause Betty to have a heart attack just a few hours ago."

"What? Oh, God."

"Mavis, she'll be okay. She's critical right now, but the doctors think she'll be okay. She'll just need to make some lifestyle adjustments, such as in her eating habits and her drinking."

"Yeah, she'll 'ave t'give up th' booze now."

"Exactly, and that won't be easy for her.

Mavis now smiled and gripped his hand. "Thanks fer keepin' your word."

Wil smiled back and cradled her hand in both of his. "How could I not, dear? I love you."

"I love you."

They then kissed softly, Mavis cupping his cheek with her unbandaged hand.

"What're you fixing, Shirley?" Cuthbert asked as he came into the kitchen and saw Shirley at the stove, cooking.

"You might not like it," Shirley said. "It's an Indonesian chicken dish, cold noodle salad with peanut dressing, and stir-fry vegetables. I've also got some sambal on the side t'go with it."

"Actually, I rather like spicy food," Cuthbert said.

"Do you?" she asked.

"I do. I'm not altogether boring, y'know."

"I know. C'mon, I'll fill ya a plate."

Shirley filled them each a plate, then they sat down to dinner, with milk to drink to cool off the heat of the meal. "Say, Cubby, if I may call you that, 'ow come y'never told me b'fore?"

"About liking spicy food?"

"No. About lovin' me."

Cuthbert broke into a prodigious sweat. "Y...you know?"

"I do. That 'ole episode with th' gun b'fore Moulterd d'cided t'pull 'is stunt with tryin' t'get Mavis married t'Malcolm brought it all back. You was th' bloke 'oo tried t'stop your gang from rapin' me when I was 12."

"You remember."

"I remember. I never got t'thank you for tryin' t'protect me, even though I still got raped. An' for what it's worth, I owe you an apology."

"For what?"

"Callin' you 'Jug-Ears,' for starters. I shouldn't 'ave done that."

"Shirley, everyone at Grace Brothers called me 'Jug-Ears.' To be honest, it wasn't a sore point with me."

"So what was a sore point?"

"Never knowing what to expect from my ex-wife Cordelia while we were married. I did everything I could to be a good husband to her, to better myself so I could better provide for her and be good to her, but she still thought I was half a man."

"But you was anythin' _but_ 'alf a man. You took a beatin' for me when you was a teenager an' almost died."

"I know. But if I'd done that for Cordelia, she'd have laughed in my face."

"I'm not laughin', Cubby. I love you."

And now Shirley kissed him, a soft peck on the lips at first, followed by another. And another. Finally, Cuthbert cradled her face in his hands and kissed her with a passion he had not felt in such a long time, and she welcomed the caress.

"You were the first to see what Wil had with Mavis," Cuthbert noted when they gently broke the kiss.

"An' you saw what we can 'ave b'fore I did," Shirley grinned.

"I love you."

"I love you." Then they continued to kiss.

After 5 days in a medically-induced coma, Betty awakened in the ICU unit at St. Mary's, weakened, but otherwise all right.

"What's happened?" she asked.

"You're all right, Betty," Steven said. "You had a heart attack."

"A heart attack?"

"Yes. We were talking about Jessica, and something caused you to collapse. They gave you a triple heart bypass while you were out of it."

"Oh, God." Tears trickled down her cheeks. "It's her."

"Her?"

"Jessica. She's me daughter."

Now Steven turned pale. "Your daughter?"

"The daughter I 'ad to give up. She dropped something out of her purse the other day, an' I saw it before I had a chance to give it to her." Betty now gave it to him.

It was a picture of Jessica shortly after she was born. "Go into me purse," Betty urged, "I 'ave th' same picture."

Steven did. The photos were a perfect match. "OhmiGod," he said, "she _is _yours. Does she know?"

"She does now," a soft voice now said from the door.

Jessica.

"I...think I'd better let you two talk," Steven said, excusing himself now.

Jessica now pulled up a chair in front of a repentant Betty. "I'm sorry, Jess," Betty sobbed. "I should've made a go of bein' your mum instead of being so afraid."

Jessica gently took her hand and put her at ease. "Mum, please don't cry. What you did turned out good for me," she said.

"How? Your adoptive parents got killed. So did your husband and your baby."

"But it still turned out for my good. Yes I've had a lot to cope with, and I've hidden my true self behind a mask of bitchery, but I can't hide anymore. Neither should you. I know you did it to protect me from your father and from Cecil, and that's nothing to apologize for. None of it is."

"So you forgive me?"

"Mum, there's nothing to forgive. You did what you needed to. And I love you for it. You're my mum."

"Oh, Jess," Betty wept as she and Jessica now hugged.

Steven saw through the door, smiling softly at their reconciliation. Now Diana walked up.

"I see Betty's up," she grinned.

"Yes. She just mended things with her daughter," Steven said.

"Miss Lovelock's 'er kid?"

"Yes. It's complicated, but they've mended things."

"That's lovely. I wish I could've mended it with me son b'fore 'e d'cided on a life 'o crime."

"Could we talk, Diana?"

"Sure. I 'ave a break for the next 'our. C'mon, I'll treat you to a coffee."

They went to the hospital cafe, where Diana bought them each a coffee, and they sat and talked.

"What happened to your son?" Steven asked.

"I tried t'raise 'im right, an' me 'usband Craig tried t' 'elp me get 'im straightened out," Diana said. "Problem is, 'e liked th' rock cocaine more than 'e like th' idea of university, so now 'e's runnin' th' streets with his druggy buddies. I ain't spoke to 'im in 3 years."

"That must be agony."

"You 'ave no idea. An' for what it's worth, I never got a chance t'tell you 'ow sorry I was when Mrs. Peacock died."

"It's not been an easy road, Diana. In fact, it's been really traumatic to deal with."

"I know. I won't ask you the particulars, but I remember 'earin' 'bout you leavin' Grace Brothers early that day. I also remember 'earin' th' sirens goin' t'your 'ouse th' day she died, an' that you were th' one 'oo found 'er."

"I don't mind telling you. I had talked to Olivia on the phone earlier that day, and sensed something was the matter. So I went straight home. As I opened the door, she had the barrel of my pistol turned upward in her mouth, and before I could stop her she pulled the trigger. She died in my arms." Now Steven wept.

"I know. I was still an intern 'ere when they brought 'er in, b'fore they took 'er to th' medical examiner. I couldn't b'lieve it was 'er." Diana now gripped Steven's hand. "Anytime you need t'talk t'someone, you come t'me. Call me or me 'usband anytime, okay? We're in th' directory."

"I'd like that," Steven wept.

"Malcolm, ya can't be serious," Jesse Dimbleby, Malcolm's best mate since their youth, said incredulously. "Ya know Mavis wants nothin' t'do with you, an' yer still bent on marryin' 'er?"

"Yer forgettin', Jesse, ol' Maurice promised 'er t'me years ago," Malcolm reminded him. "An' frankly, I don't care if th' bitch _is _in love with that 'Umphries. She's marryin' _me._"

"Malcolm, you don't even love 'er!"

"So? It's all arranged, Jesse. Either Mavis marries me, or she'll wish she wasn't even born!"

It now dawned on Jesse. "No, Malcolm. I'm not gonna stand by an' watch you an' ol' Maurice railroad 'er inta this!"

Malcolm took Jesse at face value. "Look, Jesse, either you stand at th' church with me like a good li'l boy on me weddin' day, or say goodbye to our friendship."

Jesse didn't even think twice. "No, Malcolm." He then turned on his heel, got on his bicycle, and left, Malcolm cursing at him as he pedaled away.

This brought out Henry, who'd heard the exchange. "Mal, what's th' matter?" he asked.

"It's that damn Jesse," Malcolm fumed. "Me an' 'im's not on th' same page no more."

"What d'ya mean?"

"`E's all of a sudden not fer th' marriage!"

Henry was sympathetic. "It's all right, boy," he said. "Friend like 'im, ya don't need enemies. C'mon, let's start to th' killin' shed on them sheep."

"Right," Malcolm said, following his dad to the killing shed.

Friday morning, Steven went to Mavis's room to talk to Wil. Mavis was resting, and Wil was asleep in the nearby recliner, unkempt and unshaven. He had been true about not leaving Mavis's side.

"Wil? Wil, wake up," Steven said, gently nudging Wil awake.

"Uh?" Wil yawned. He now saw Steven. "Hi, Steven."

"Why don't you go to your mother's for a bit? Get yourself a hot bath and a change of clothes?" Steven offered. "I'll stay with Mavis."

"What about Betty?" Wil asked.

"Oh, she's fine. Her daughter's with her."

"Her daughter? But Betty hasn't seen her daughter in years. How?"

"Jessica. She's her daughter."

"OhmiGod. How did Jessica find out?"

"Betty told me, and Jessica heard it. And they've reconciled their former differences. They're getting to know each other now."

"That's good. But I don't want to leave Mavis. What if that damned Malcolm shows up?"

"`E can't," Mavis now said. "`E's in th' same straits as me dad. 'E's under a restrainin' order an' ain't allowed t'come near me. In any case, Capt. Peacock's right, Wil. Y'need a nice 'ot bath."

Wil was still concerned. "Dear, he could violate the order. You of all people know how psychotic Malcolm is – he won't stay out of your airspace for any reason, not even for that."

"Well, that's why I'm here," Steven said. "And hospital security has been alerted, too. So you're overruled, Wil."

Wil smiled now. "Oh, all right. Keep an eye on her while I'm at me mother's. I won't be long." He now leaned over and kissed Mavis softly. "I love you."

"I love you, Willy," Mavis chirped as Wil now left.

**End of Part One**


End file.
